Tag: kaiju

The latest trailer is gorgeous, giving every indication that this will be a Godzilla film that goes back to the roots of the genre. A healthy mix of practical and digital effects, scientists and army alike helpless against the monster, and hints of a focus on a human story in the midst of all this horror.

There is no dialogue in the trailer, only haunting music. It has a disturbing modern beauty that has me excited for the film.

The soundtrack will be released next week, and I may pick that up right away. Composer Shirō Sagisu has taken up quite a mantle by following the grand symphonic works of Akira Ikufube (composer of nearly all the individual monster themes from 1956 to 1995). However, Sagisu previously worked with director Hideaki Anno on the Neon Genesis films, and I think he will add something truly great to the tradition of kaiju movie musical scores.

Watch the latest trailer below:

I personally am vibrating with impatience over the still-unannounced US release date, accurately represented by this charming scene from Godzilla versus The Sea Monster (1966).

A Hong Kong release date of August 25 has been announced, as well as Taiwan and the Philippines.

I have to wonder something fantastic might happen at Fantastic Fest in mid-September, especially since they haven’t announced the theme yet…

Godzilla vs. King Kong is a thing that Legendary may really do in a few years.

I will explode if this really happens. I am so excited by this that doesn’t even matter that I didn’t care for Legendary’s 2014 Godzilla.

According to Deadline.com, the unnamed Skull Island movie by Thomas Tull has just moved followed Legendary from Warner Bros over to Universal. Universal Studios is the current home of Legendary, which left Warner Bros. about two years ago. Having everything back under one roof makes it much simpler to start building a full kaiju cinematic universe.

When we were little kids, my sister and I used to argue over who would win, Godzilla or King Kong. We were 7 and 8, so violence to defend the honor our chosen monster was totally appropriate. Godzilla would win. Godzilla will win.

This is all speculation, of course. While the Skull Island film is definitely moving to Universal, there has been no official announcement yet from Legendary about a crossover film. Until that happens, it’s just wishful thinking. Giant, destructive, building-smash wishful thinking.

According to Kotaku, prices will run about $334 US (39,800 yen) on weeknights and $417 US (49,800 yen) on weekends.

I really am a little blown away by this. Based on everything I have heard and read, Godzilla’s popularity has waned significantly in Japan over the last decade. For all its flaws (its many, many flaws), if the 2014 American Godzilla film has reinvigorated the Toho franchise and its ridiculous glory, I may have to forgive Legendary Pictures. Maybe.

And of course I will be adjusting my projected budget accordingly for that trip to Japan I keep fantasizing about.

Over the weekend I was dying of something flu-like, and the only cure for that is wine and monster movies. My boyfriend, fearful for my life, fired up Netflix and handed me the controller. And then, saint that he is, spent the rest of his evening watching Godzilla vs. The Thing, aka Godzilla vs. Mothra with his sneezy, snotty, wine-drunk girlfriend.

Fortunately, he was cracking up the entire time. This is such a fantastically bad movie, it’s great fun.

Godzilla vs The Thing is a kaiju classic. It’s goofy and doesn’t take itself very seriously, except of course when the monsters are fighting. There is some great Godzilla-smash to enjoy, from stepping on factories to people panicking in the streets. Mothra really dishes it out to Godzilla as she fights to protect her offspring. The plot is fun, following two newspaper reporters and a scientist as they try to expose the corruption of a local power hungry businessmen whose greed nearly dooms Japan to Godzilla’s wrath.

The suit took a serious beating in this film. In a scene exclusive to the US cut, the suit head is literally set on fire:

Then, the suit gets drug across some mountains, inevitably birthing a famous gif decades later:

Apparently (according to Wikipedia) when Godzilla smashes his way into Nagoya Castle, the suit’s lower jaw was damaged and had a bit of a wobble for the rest of the film. It didn’t get fixed because the SFX director Eiji Tsubaraya loved the look of the jaw wobble and decided to leave it alone.

The English dub translation is kind of weird. There’s a confusing switch back and forth between referring to Mothra as either Mothra or ‘The Thing,’ with zero consistency. Reed made it halfway through the film before he figured out that The Thing and Mothra were the same monster. It’s a weird production choice, and it gets weirder when looking at the marketing for the US release.

The film was originally called Mothra vs Godzilla, but they renamed it for the US release (but not the UK release), and the bizarre trailer hinted at some kind of mysterious monster it called ‘The Thing,’ which may or may not have had tentacles, or might have been created by humans to kill Godzilla. Mothra never actually appears in any US promotional material. They treated it like Mothra was some kind of new thing, rather than a monster that already had her own film with a well-received US release two years earlier. Very weird. Kind of fascinating.

Bad 60’s marketing or not, I personally have loved this movie since I was a kid, begging my parents to rent it on VHS on a regular basis. I really was pretty sick over the weekend, and this solid kaiju movie is good comfort.

I am really loving this new IDW miniseries, Godzilla: Cataclysm. It’s a post apocalyptic story of life after giant monsters tore down civilization. It’s only four issues, but I find myself hoping that IDW decides to play more in this world.